Display device



Dec. 17', 1940. a A AMES 2,224,893

DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Aug. 15, 1938 INVENT OR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 17, 1940 PATENT ortica DISPLAY DEVICE' BurtonA.Ames, Chicago, Ill., assignorv toLussky,

White & Coolidgalnc., Chicago, Ill., a. corpora- 'tionr of IllinoisApplication August 15, 19a-a, salviamo. 224,864 3.C`laims. (CL 20G-82:)

for displaying stockl and moreparticularly comprehends a support forstock of the type representedt by'y textiles and fabrics.

The present inventionY more particularlyv comprehends the provision of asupport or drum adapted to simulate in configuration and propoltioning afull bolt of 'textile goods, and being so constructedy as tofacilitatethe mounting thereonl of arelatively small'body of-'sheetmaterial in such a manner as todisplay the material to bes-t advantage.

It is accordingly an object` ofy theA present 1nventionr toI privide animproved supporting and displaying device ofthe above type of generallyprismatic configuration but having smooth, continuous-wallsgraduallycurved in places for supporting textile material-free fromdamage thereto; and?- arrangihg it smoothly to simulate the surfaceof-"abolt of' goods;

Another'r object of" the present invention is to provide a light weightdrum as` above which is characterized by adequate structural strength,at the-same time being light' and readily portable with little physicaleffort, so that the display unitsmay be freely handled and examined.

Yet an additional object of the present inventionis t`oprovid'eanimproved' drum structure which may be manufactured readily bya simple and inexpensive method, having a framework comprising a minimumnumber of parts yand comprisingy a regular, continuous outer wall.

Still another object of thefpresent invention is tol provide in'combination-r a` drum having thereon a* relativelysmall amount oftextile material', the combination being so arranged as to support thematerial inthe form andv shape of' a complete bolt of' goods'.

Numerous' other' objects.. advantages and inherent functions. of. theinvention will become apparent as thejsame is more fully understood fromthey following description when taken in connection. with theaccompanying drawing,

wherein: l

Fig.. 1. is a perspective view. of .a drum con.- structedinaccordancewithl the present inven.- tion, having. thereon aY display sample of`sheet material. and, being; arranged. in. preferred position;,

Fig.. 2. is a perspectiveviewof; a` druml with por-tions of the sample`vof goods and showing a method of providing and' securing the partsinoperative relationship;

Fig. a. perspective'view oft-hel centralbody or framework of the drum;

le is a;r sectional view of the drum taker. on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the drum taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the end pieces of-rthe drum;

Referring tothedrawing, wherein the present invention is: disclosed'morefin detail', Fig.y 1 shows a display1 unitarranged in accordancewith'l the present invention and comprising a central: supportingvmember or'fdrum Ilif,` indicatedl by dotted lines, having thereon' asample of sheet textile fabrici I'2, visible.: portions of whichhangdownwardly in-folds I4.- Itiwillbe noted that the assembly'isisupported. on a suitable` floor; shelf or table'. surface.v k6;indicatedin dotted lines.y

As shownmor'e in detail inFig. 2, the; drum l2 is` a: relativelyelongated' member having a uniform cross sectional configurationthroughout its length,y and comprising outer continuous side Walls withpreferably closed ends; More specifically attention is directed' tothefact; that the aforementioned cross section of the presentv embodmentconforms to an oval shape so thatv the side walls are divided int-o flatside wall portions |-8 on oppositel sides of the unit, said sidewallportions; being joined by curved, somewhat' semicircular edge walls 20;Accordingly, the surface provided by the drum; is.v continuous, regular.and uniformN so' that cloth wound thereon4 will have the sameappearanceas a bolt of fabric of the ordinary type;`

The: structurey of the' drum I6.' is more clearly shown in Figsr3 to'6,in which the end wallsr are designatedi by the reference numeral 22andthe continuous side'. wall by the reference numeral 241. *Eachz drumcomprises upper and lower end wallswhich, as` shownI clearly in Figs. 3and 4, are, interconnected with; a pair of longitudinally extendingframe members or stringers 26 in such a. manner as to provider asupporting frame for theffabric supporting wall 24. To. the end that`these longitudinally extending braces 26 may .be constructionally'engaged in connection with the end pieces 22 and also positionedcentrally withinitheldrum, the endv members 22 are recessed interiorlyon opposite' sidesas indicated by the reference numeraly 28Y in Fig. 6.The ends of the members 26 t within the recesses 28 and may lbeispiked*or otherwise fastened in place, as shown in Fig. 3. fact that` each ofthe' ends 22y is so congurated as to. provide a kperipheral outwardlyextending flangev 3D, which is of a. depth corresponding to Attention isfurther directed to thev the` thicknessI ofthesheet material" formingthe wall. 2'4; This latter member is accordingly formed about theframework as provided and with itstwo longitudinally extending edges 32brought together asishown inl Figs; 2 and`5, and secured --by mea-nsiof:lfasteners 34 driven into one of the membersjzg. Additional fastenersmay, if desired, be employed to secure the member 24 to the other frame26 and/or the end supports 22.

It'is evident from the above disclosure that the aforementionedconstruction, while extremely simple and comprising a minimum of parts,will serve to rigidly support the supporting surfaces of the drum andhold them in the particular configuration illustrated in the drawing.Thus the sectional configuration in general is maintained by thecurvediianged edges of the end members, while the fiat portions are rigidlysecured to the stringers 26.

In use, it has been found desirable to apply a sheet of fabric to thedrum as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In proceeding in this manner, the sheetof textile, which is usually double, as shown in Fig. 2, is arrangedadjacent the drum, as indicated, and the end thereof secured in place bymeans of glue, tacks or any other fastening means. A few turns of fabricmay be made about the drum, although in accordance with the presentrinvention it is preferred that the quantity of material employed be onlysuch as is necessary for display and sample purposes. 'Ihe free end ofthe cloth remaining after one or more turns have been made upon the drummay then be arranged as shown in Fig. 1 by inover the other portion B ata point in proximity to the drum so that what would normally be theinterior surfaces of the doubled material become the exterior surfaces.The free end thus tends to hang in folds, as shown in Fig. 1, about Ithe support.

It has been found that the present invention is responsible for numerousimproved results in merchandising display, it being contemplated aspointed out above that each drum comprise only sufficient material fordisplay purposes. For this reason the main stock of material is notnecessarily subjected to display but may be retained in storage orreserve stock. Accordingly it is not necessary to subject the stockitselfy .to handling, clipping or displays in such a manner as to causeloss, shortage or damage. So also the present invention provides adisplay unit in which it is convenient to provide clippings or samplesfor prospective purchasers. By merely providing suiiicient excessyardage for this purpose, an actual check as to the cost of the clippingservice may be determined at any time from the remaining yardage of thepieces on the drum. The lightness of the display unit renders possibleclose examination at any desired situation, as compared with ordinaryrelatively heavy bolts of goods, the handling of which involvesconsiderable onerous labor. An extremely wide variety of samples may becarried Without the necessity of stocking an extensive inventory ofmaterial, and each of the samples may be adequately marked andidentified on suitable .drum of the above character having a length from26 to 28 inches, and a transverse width, that is, between the curvedWall portions 2D, of about 9 inches, and a transverse depth between theouter surfaces of the side walls I8, of about inches. While this ismerely illustrative, it is to be preferred that the transverse depth ofthe drum be at least abo-ut one-sixth the length of the bolt, preferablyin the neighborhood of one-fifth. It will be understood, however, thatthese dimensions may be varied within limits in order to permitaccomplishment of the above desired results. While one particular methodof arranging the textile fabric has been above defined, it will beunderstood that various methods of draping may be employed.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of theparts without de= parting from the spirit of the invention orsacrificing any of its advantages, and the right is -hereby reserved tomake all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the followingclaims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A textile merchandise display drum for samples of fabric comprising aframe having opposed end wall members of substantially ovalconfiguration in which the minor `dimension of the oval is substantiallyone-half the larger dimension of the oval, said end members beingconnected by spaced oppositely disposed longitudinally extending barssecured to said end members on the opposed elongated sides provided bysaid oval configuration and having their extremities recessed within theperipheral margin of said end members, and a rigid sheet wall memberdisposed about said longitudinally extending members and said endmembers and secured thereto to provide an uninterrupted wall surface ofregular oval cross-section, the length of said longitudinally extendingbars having a predetermined relation to said end wall members such thatthe opposite sides of saidwall member are spaced a distance equal to atleast onesixth the longitudinal dimension of the drum.

2. A display drum of the type deiined in claim 1 wherein the endWall'members are recessed inwardly of the marginal periphery to receivethe enclosing wall member with its outer surface disposed in the planeof said marginal periphery.

3. A textile merchandise display drum for samples of fabric comprising aframe having opposed end wall members of substantially ovalconfiguration in which the minor dimension of the oval is substantiallyone-half the larger dimension of the oval, said end members beingconnected by longitudinally extending bars, and a rigid sheet wallmember disposed about said longitudinally extending members and said endmembers and secured thereto to provide an uninterrupted wall surface ofregular oval crosssection, the length of said longitudinally extendingbars having a predetermined relation to said end wall members such thatthe opposite sides of said wall member :are spaced a distance equal toat least one-sixth the longitudinal dimension of the drum, the endmembers being recessed completely thereabout a distance inwardly of theperipheral margin thereof sufficient to accommodate the longitudinalmarginal extremities of said wall member with the outer surface of thewall disposed in the same plane as said peripheral margin, and said barsbeing disposed inwardly of the inner surface of said wall member.

BURTON A. AMES.

